Air Ambulance Coast to Coast Cycle Challenge fully booked in three weeks

THE Dorset & Somerset Air Ambulance has said its fourth annual Coast to Coast (C2C) Cycle Challenge is now fully booked for 2014.

The event, which is not designed as a race, involves cycling through some of Dorset and Somerset’s most beautiful countryside, and takes place on Sunday, May 18.

With only 600 places available and demand expected to be high, it was no surprise that within three weeks of the charity announcing on-line registration open all the places had been filled.

Last year’s event saw cyclists of all ages and abilities take part, raising over £60,000 for the air ambulance.

The Coast to Coast Cycle Challenge offers two different routes and distances.

With a mixture of quiet back roads, interspersed with demanding climbs and equally hairy descents, the event has something to offer for everyone.

The 54-mile cycle starts in Watchet and finishes at West Bay, near Bridport, while a shorter 11-mile route begins at Drimpton in Dorset and also finishes at West Bay.

Air Ambulance chief executive Bill Sivewright said: “Our Coast to Coast Cycle Challenge is currently the only fundraising event we organise in-house.

“We restrict the numbers to 600 cyclists to keep the event as safe as possible, but also to encourage all standards of cyclists to take part without fear of being overcrowded.

“We’re really looking forward to this year’s event, and hope everyone who has entered will encourage their family and friends to sponsor them in a bid to raise as much as possible and make this the best Coast to Coast Cycle Challenge yet.”

As well as sponsorship of the cyclists, the Air Ambulance has set up two other ways in which donations can be made in support of the event. These can be made online via the charity’s website – www.dsairambulance.org.uk – or by texting COAS04 £10 to 70070